Henderson County was the only county government to win the award this year, Conway said.

In 2010, the county was awarded a grant to replace inefficient fluorescent bulbs with low-usage ones, install LED exit signs on buildings and put in occupancy sensors that automatically switch off lights when offices are empty.

Those, plus a 32-panel solar hot water system on the roof of the 1995 courthouse, photovoltaic system at the county’s convenience center and a shared city/county compressed natural gas station, have saved the county energy and money, Piner said.

At a Carolina Recycling Association conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C. April 10, the county also won the Bill Evans and Carol Bond Memorial Award for Outstanding Toxicity Reduction. The award recognizes programs that reduce toxins through education, collection, processing and disposal.

The county’s Hazardous Household Waste program has diverted more than 2,000 gallons of such waste and more than 200,000 pounds of electronic waste from being landfilled.

“This program serves residents at little or no additional cost to taxpayers,” Jones said, giving credit to Piner for her leadership. “She’s been on top of things and doing a great job for us.”

The Carolina Recycling Association is a nonprofit organization serving the public and private recycling industry in order to advance waste reduction and recycling in North and South Carolina.

<p>Henderson County was honored recently with two awards recognizing its efforts to save energy and increase recycling.</p><p>At Monday's Board of Commissioners meeting, Reid Conway of the N.C. Energy Office presented County Engineer Marcus Jones and Environmental Programs Coordinator Megan Piner with its 2013 Utility Savings Intiative Leadership Award.</p><p>Henderson County was the only county government to win the award this year, Conway said.</p><p>In 2010, the county was awarded a grant to replace inefficient fluorescent bulbs with low-usage ones, install LED exit signs on buildings and put in occupancy sensors that automatically switch off lights when offices are empty. </p><p>Those, plus a 32-panel solar hot water system on the roof of the 1995 courthouse, photovoltaic system at the county's convenience center and a shared city/county compressed natural gas station, have saved the county energy and money, Piner said. </p><p>At a Carolina Recycling Association conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C. April 10, the county also won the Bill Evans and Carol Bond Memorial Award for Outstanding Toxicity Reduction. The award recognizes programs that reduce toxins through education, collection, processing and disposal.</p><p>The county's Hazardous Household Waste program has diverted more than 2,000 gallons of such waste and more than 200,000 pounds of electronic waste from being landfilled. </p><p>“This program serves residents at little or no additional cost to taxpayers,” Jones said, giving credit to Piner for her leadership. “She's been on top of things and doing a great job for us.”</p><p>The Carolina Recycling Association is a nonprofit organization serving the public and private recycling industry in order to advance waste reduction and recycling in North and South Carolina.</p>